May the mumbling commence!
Jesus once told a would be follower that he couldn’t
return home to see his family after the invitation to follow was given or the
commitment to follow was given (Luke 9:61-62).
There is no turning back once you decide to serve the Lord. I believe that this fact is what Elijah
hinted at when he anointed Elisha. And this fact is what drove Elisha not to return
home to his parents but to make a sacrifice instead. Read from First King chapter nineteen:
So Elijah went and found Elisha son of Shaphat plowing a
field with a team of oxen. There were eleven teams of oxen ahead of him, and he
was plowing with the twelfth team. Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak across his
shoulders and walked away again.
Elisha left the oxen standing there, ran after Elijah, and said to him, "First let me go and kiss my father and mother
good-bye, and then I will go with
you!"
Elijah replied, "Go on back! But
consider what I have done to you."
Elisha then returned to his oxen, killed them, and used
the wood from the plow to build a fire to roast their flesh. He passed around
the meat to the other plowmen, and they all ate. Then he went with Elijah as
his assistant. (Verses 19-21)
To follow God is to accept sacrifice. I live this every day when it comes to my
parents. I live over a thousand miles
away from my parents. I miss them very
much, but I’ve accepted the call of God on my life to serve as a minister. I may never move back home. I have a new home now – where the call of God
is on my life.
It is here in Kansas that I must learn to speak the
lingo of the Great Plains, so far from my birthplace of Ohio. And, when you learn to speak peoples’
language they take notice. Look at the
effect Paul had on people when he spoke to them in their own heart language. Read from Acts chapter twenty-one:
As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the
commander, "May I have a word with you?"
"Do you know Greek?"
the commander asked, surprised. "Aren't
you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took four thousand
members of the Assassins out into the desert?"
"No," Paul replied, "I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia,
which is an important city. Please, let
me talk to these people."
The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people
to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and he
addressed them in their own language, Aramaic. (Verses
37-40)
When we speak to a person in their heart language,
misunderstandings melt away. The path to
what we need is opened. Speaking a
peoples’ language also can sooth an angry crowd. The crowd of people who were ready to stone
Paul to death quieted when he addressed them in their heart language. What power!
Even when we make small attempts to speak in a person’s
heart language, it will make an enormously positive impact on our relationship
with the person. I vividly remember when
I was subbing for a school bus route and there was a student who spoke Spanish
as his heart language. I sent him off
the bus by saying goodbye in Spanish and wishing him a good afternoon. Oh, how his eyes lit up! We cannot overstate the power of speaking to
someone in their heart language.
So learn bits and pieces of a new language. Step by step leave behind the comfortable
homes you have built. Find a new home in
seeking out God’s will for your life.
You will never make a better decision in your life. I can attest to that.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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